


Nagareboshi - The Last Wish

by RonnieSilverlake



Category: Shaman King
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen, Reconciliation, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-07
Updated: 2012-06-16
Packaged: 2017-11-07 04:23:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/426878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RonnieSilverlake/pseuds/RonnieSilverlake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whatever you do, has its consequences. Sometimes consequences you cannot cope with. And even if you did something out of pure motives, it can happen that you have to pay for it like you did something bad. Asakura Yoh would have never thought he did something bad when he freed the world of Hao. But what if he did? What if everyone has a second chance? And what if Hao's second chance is dependent on Yoh? What if the only thing they need is to clear up what remained unclear? And how will Yoh cope with all this - especially himself?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One: Ochiru

**Author's Note:**

> Translations of the Japanese text I use can be found at the end notes of each chapter.

_It was a nearly fully starless night. At least the stars that were always visible now weren't. There wasn't a single star on the sky that would have been able to stay at place. Falling stars, all the more. Everyone who looked at the night sky was able to wish something tonight – and even those who didn't bother looking up._

_Maybe their wishes can be fulfilled too._

_Maybe there still exist fulfillable wishes in this world. It just requires someone to fulfill them – either because they want to, or because they have to. This way or another, every wish is to be fulfilled._

_Every wish that can be made on a night like this._

* * *

 

The man stood behind the old woman, and waited for her to address him. But the minutes just went by, and she didn't even seem to notice his presence. Then, at the exact moment he chose to break the silence, she spoke up.

"What are you waiting for? You know your duty."

"Isn't this dangerous?" he asked, but the woman only sighed.

"We don't have a choice. Everything is the will of  _them_."

"But why would they will this-...?"

"It is needless to argue. This is already decided. Go. You yourself could make a wish, right? And they fulfilled it for you."

"I wasn't the only one who wished for  _that_ ," he hissed. "Why do I have to be the one who fulfills his?"

"Because this is his last wish, and they want it to be fulfilled. And anyways, it isn't you who was to fulfill. You are only the messenger. Don't be afraid..." The old woman let out a hair-raising chuckle. "You don't have to endure him for a long time."

As the echo of the laugh faded away, it gave an impression like she hadn't been the only one laughing.

* * *

 

Asakura Yoh recovered from his daydream to the looks of someone waving their hand in front of his face. He blinked, then looked up, only to see that the owner of the hand was his  _beloved_  fiancée, Anna.

"... What is it?" he growled, then as he recognised the girl's expression, he straightened his face immediately. "I mean, what do you want?"

"Someone knocked. Didn't you hear?" came the lofty answer.

Yoh looked around. They were quite finished with dinner; there were dirty dishes on the table everywhere. Manta was still eating, but Ren was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling boredly. When he sensed being watched, he looked at Yoh and nodded.

"There really was a knock."

"... So what?"

"Go and look who it is, dummy!" Anna knocked at his head. Now even Yoh psyched it out.

"Oh! Okay." He got up and went for the door.

To tell the truth, he wasn't so eager to get up from his former position. He felt great just where he was. It was one of their best evenings. He was comfortably sleepy because of the dinner, there were people to talk to, there was Manta, and even Ren dropped by with some package sent by Jun-chan... typical, she knew she had to send it with Ren or else he wouldn't even think about visiting them.  _Or if he did think, he wouldn't do it anyways,_  he thought. So it was just too good to be true. And after all, if Anna asked something, he didn't dare decline.

Because of Ren's arrival, a part of him was expecting another friend to show up, maybe Lyserg or Chocolove. The more surprised he became when he pulled the door sideways, because the guest was none other than Silva.

"Umm... well..." he muttered, than came to his senses and smiled. "Hello, Silva. Come inside."

"I can't," the priest answered seriously.

"Why? What happened?" Yoh didn't understand what the man was doing there. The Shaman Fight was cancelled after he overcame Hao, and he didn't have any information about them wanting to restart it; and even if they did, he had already proved himself worthy of entering, isn't that right?

"Would you come out for a minute, Yoh-kun?"

"Of course."

Yoh stepped down the porch and stood on the lawn. He was barefoot, the wet grass stuck to his feet and it cooled him well after the inside hotness. He looked in Silva's face. The moonlight enlightened them, deepening the grooves on the older one's face.

"Where is your sword, Yoh-kun? Is this how you want to fight?"

Now Yoh didn't understand at all.

"Why would I have to fight? Did we restart the whole Shaman Fight?"

Silva's expression was unreadable.

"Why did you come here?" the boy asked once again, but there was no answer.

"Do you think killing is rightful?" Silva asked suddenly.

"No," answered Yoh obviously. "I never said anything like that, did I?"

"But you did it. You killed. Is that right?" It seemed like the priest was avoiding his eyes; he looked at the house, then gazed at somewhere behind the boy's back. Yoh glanced over his shoulder, but there was no one to look at there.

"Yes, I killed Hao, if that's what you're thinking about. But I thought-..." he started.

"You had to do that. Or maybe... maybe not..." Silva seemed to struggle with himself, or maybe something invisible. "You did it because you had to... but still, you killed, Yoh. And killing shall not be rightful."

Yoh let out an exasperated sigh, and rubbed his scruff.

"Something like that," he admitted. "But still, Silva, can't you just tell what you want? I don't really feel like solving riddles right now."

"You've got to redeem it," the priest whispered, and his voice suddenly resembled another one; a voice Yoh wished never to hear again. Silva suddenly swung forward, the spirits became animated on his limbs, and Yoh didn't even have time to shout for Amidamaru. He got a hard punch at the back of his head, and everything went black.

* * *

 

When he regained his consciousness, there were people standing around him. Anna was kneeling at his head, squeezing a cold, wet cloth to his forehead.

"What did you do?" she pealed, and his head started to throb.

"I... don't know, I don't remember..." He sat up slowly, but it made him feel dizzy. He only slightly remembered things: Silva turned up, said lots of stupid things, than attacked him... but how was he supposed to tell all that to Anna?

"You came out to see who was knocking, then you didn't return, and when we came after you, you were lying here in the grass," Manta explained, and shot his friend a nervous look. "What happened?"

"It's... complicated," Yoh said, and bowed his head between his knees in order to stop the world spinning. But no, it didn't want to stop. "I'm fine. Just... let me have a bit more fresh air."

Someone behind him made a 'tsk' noise. Ren was standing at the doorway, staring at the giddy shaman.

"Get yourself together quickly, because you look like shit," he gave his friendly advice, then turned back into the house.

"I'm really OK!" Yoh tried to convince the others. "Go inside, I'll follow you in a couple of minutes. I just need to wind my head."

Manta shook his head unbelievingly, but went after Ren anyway. Anna also followed them, but she hissed to Yoh before doing so:

"You freaked me out! I'll make you pay for this."

* * *

 

When Yoh was finally alone again, he breathed heavily, and tried to switch the events into place. He had a strange feeling, like something was missing, but he couldn't make it out what it was.

Then it struck him.

"Amidamaru," he whispered, then, as no answer came, he repeated it louder. "Amidamaru!"

Nothing, only deaf silence. The spirit wasn't anywhere. Fear grabbed Yoh's insides. What could have possibly happened to him that he isn't responding...?

Then, after some time, a response did came, but it was all the worse. The spirit that appeared beside him was everything but a samurai, and when he spoke, it gave Yoh the creeps.

"Oh, I don't think he will come back anytime soon. From where I sent him, almost none return... But, if you think about it, you don't even need him, do you? Since you got me instead."

Yoh held his head between his hands.  _This can't be, this is only a bad dream,_  he kept repeating. But the spirit seemed to be able to even read his thoughts.

"Would I come across as a bad dream? I don't think so. But even if I do, I don't mind." His sharp laugh tilled the deaf silence of the night. "I had more than enough bad dreams because of you, it's high time you got some because of me. Or am I not right,  _otouto_?"


	2. Part Two: Motsu

The weather turned colder and colder. Mellow wind ruffled the branches of trees, circled some buildings, tousled the hair of a boy who was sitting in a garden on the lawn, then went away. The boy stayed sitting in the grass, holding his head, and thinking about how could this happen. Beside him, a ghost was floating over the ground – he extremely resembled the other one, only he left his long hair unbound, and wore different clothing. His bare chest flashed out as he put his hands on his hip, his face reflected scornful gloat.

"How did you come here?" the sitting boy asked. He sounded panicking. "This can't be happening! Can't be!"

"I came back," the other said simply. The grin left his face instantly, giving its place to total apathy.

"I thought I still had five hundred years," Yoh grumbled and stood up from the dewy grass before his pants became sloppy.

"It's not the same as reincarnation," Hao said musingly. "For starters, you can't kill me, because I'm tied to you-..."

"It's getting better," Yoh snorted.

"... but I can't kill you either."

"Then what's the point for you?" asked the younger shaman unbelievingly. Come to think about it, the most unbelievable thing wasn't the fact that Hao came back; it was the fact that they were standing outside the En inn, in the wet grass, and – more or less – normally talking to each other.

"Well, I don't know..." Hao chuckled. "For the time being, driving you mad seems enough. Then we'll see."

Yoh couldn't quite believe his ears. These words didn't suit his cruel twin brother.  _More like a kindergartener who grew tall._  But this thought only lasted until their eyes met. Nothing came from Hao's glance, total Nothingness. For a moment he thought he was mistaken, he felt sick afterwards. This unbelievable nihil was worse than the consuming hatred.

This was the first time in his life Asakura Yoh was  _really_  frightened.

Then somehow the moment flew away when the other spoke up, and as his nearly gracious voice – well,  _could_  have been mistaken for gracious if Yoh hadn't known him – broke the silence, the nihility also disappeared, giving its place to inexplicable hatred and sorrow.

"Do you see now what became of me, Yoh?" asked Hao silently, and Yoh thrilled. "It's more or less your fault."

"But-..." the younger boy tried to defend himself, but the feelings were changing each other frightfully fast in his brother's eyes: now it was only anger, and pure loathing.

"Not all of it, but almost. Now I'm nothing but a deplorable ghost... but I guarantee that you will pay for it!"

Yoh lost his patience.

"Get out from here,  _now_!" he shouted as loud as he could. "Don't you hear me?"

Hao only swayed his head.

"I couldn't do that even if I wanted."

The fusuma drew aside, and in that exact moment the ghost of the shaman dissolved.

"Who are you shouting at?" Manta asked surprisedly. Yoh turned around.

"Of course at..." He realized his friend didn't see a thing. "Well, the truth is..."

He vaguely stopped speaking, thinking about possible ways of explaining, but before he could say Hao's name, Manta shrugged.

"Come inside, if you're done with shouting. Anna wants something. It's cold out here anyways."

He turned around and went back to the house without waiting for an answer. Yoh stared after him.  _Anna must be really angry, if even Manta behaves like this..._ When he turned back to the garden, Hao was standing in front of him once again.

"Better go inside, before  _dear_  Anna loses her patience..." he said lightly.

"Oh, shut up!" Yoh snapped.

"I won't give you that pleasure. And be grateful that this is all for now."

"Oh, what else coud you do?" Yoh asked venomously.

"Want me to show you?" Hao disappeared again, and a moment later Yoh felt something change. He gasped when he discovered what. Hao achieved a full Hyoui Gattai, without him cooperating... and that could only mean he wouldn't be able to do so in the future either. Hao possessed him.

And sure enough, from then on it was like watching himself from outside. His feet started going to the gate, and he wasn't even able to ask where he was going, let alone stop himself. When he was outside, he turned around and started running. When he thought about it later, it was an interesting question how Hao knew where he used to run every day, nevertheless, they went the exact way Anna marked his training schedule way before the Shaman Tounament. Hao made him run five full circles, until he couldn't have run more even if he himself wanted. When he collapsed in front of the gateway, Hao let him go and left his body, watching malevolently as his younger brother learnt how to breathe once again.

"This..." Yoh panted when he was able to speak again. "I... can't... believe... you... Why... did... you... do... that... to... me?..."

"It was a warning," Hao shrugged, then when he saw Yoh's uncomprehending blink, he was kind enough to explain. "If you tell any of your little friends that I'm here, or if any of them get any knowledge of me, I will have to silence them with your help."

Yoh's heart missed a beat.

"You don't mean what I think you mean that, right?" he asked. He sat up on the pavement, and wiped at his sweating forehead.

"If you think I will kill them, then you're right, I mean what you think I mean," Hao chuckled, and watched as his younger brother's face strained of anger. For a couple of moments they let uneasy silence tighten between them, then...

"All right, you won. But just for now," Yoh scrambled to his feet with awkward slowness. "I'll figure out how to get rid of you."

"I'd pay to see that."

They went back to the garden behind each other. Yoh at the front, this time pacing on his own will, after him Hao, hiding his pensive expression from the other boy.

"Where the Hell have you been?" an angry voice pealed, and the older brother vanished instantly. Yoh moaned loudly when he got a glimpse of the fury-faced Anna standing at the door.  _I could have known the day hasn't ended yet..._

It was nearly eleven o'clock when the house finally went silent. Manta went home, and Ren got one of the guest rooms after Yoh convinced him to stay, so he was going to stay a couple of days before returning to his beloved sister. Anna, after Yoh somehow explained his sudden rush of energy and told her he had been training, seeing that the boy looked like he would collapse in any moment, took on the washing-up for this one occasion, and Yoh could go to the bath at last.

He dived in the hot water up to his neck, and closed his eyes. Any other time he would have enjoyed being alone, but he was sure that if nobody came in a few minutes, then Hao would reappear to entertain him, and  _somehow_  he didn't feel like that.

"You look tired."

 _I could try the lottery with that..._  Yoh thought and peeked an eye open.

"What do you want?" he asked, immediately jumping to the main part of the conversation, hoping he could get rid of him easier that way.

"Come on, Yoh, is that a proper way to greet your brother?"

"It's a proper way to greet a stupid, sadist, megalomaniac dimwit," Yoh grunted and dived under the water completely. As this way his ears filled with water, he only faintly heard Hao's chuckle.

The older shaman sat down on the edge of the water and looked at his brother from there. Surprisingly he didn't deny the accusations, nor did he try to shoot back for them. Yoh was still praying for Ren to want to take a bath and appear so he could get rid of Hao, though he didn't quite understand why Hao didn't want to be seen. Though, if he thought about it...

"Would you overcome Anna too?" he asked suddenly, but Hao only shrugged.

"It depends."

"What do you mean by that?"

"If you mean if I would be able to overcome Anna, then the answer is yes, since I already did, and the  _Sen-Hachijuu_  is also broken..."

"Isn't that what I asked?" Yoh asked.

"No, the question is if  _you_  can overcome Anna. Since if I am to fight anybody, I will do that as  _you_."

Yoh had forgotten that. In thought, he banged his head into a sympathetic wall, then tried to get himself together, but before he could say anything, Hao thwarted that too.

"Don't forget, if you make me fight Anna, it still will be me who fights, so I wouldn't consider losing. And even if I would, you would be the one to suffer the consequences, so if I were you I'd think that over,  _otouto_.

Yoh looked up, only to see Hao's irritating smile again. He started to lose his patience again, like whenever Hao was the subject.

"What did you do to Amidamaru?" he rather asked. This was the other most important question he seeked answer for: getting rid of Hao, and getting Amidamaru back. Not as if until now he didn't cafre about his samurai friend, but until he was linked with Hao like this he would try to keep him from doing anything anyway. Well, if it was like that, it wasn't likely that Hao would answer to such a question, but it was worth trying.

"He's at a place you cannot reach," Hao answered calmly. "Accept it, I won."

"The Hell you did!" Yoh jumped up, splashing water everywhere. "Tell me  _now_!"

Hao sighed scenically.

"You're so stubborn,  _otouto_... All right, I'll help you, if you help me."

"All right," Yoh answered quickly, regardless that he hadn't a clue about what he had to do. "What do I have to do?"

Hao opened his mouth to answer... and he froze, then dissolved.

"Who are you talking to, Yoh?"

Yoh let out a loud roar, making Ren jump backwards in shock.

"What's your problem? Training got the better part of your brain? I saw you running..."

Yoh murmured something as an answer, but as his mouth was under the water again, nothing was audible. Ren, given his expression, thought he was totally whacky. He hesitated for a moment, but then dropped his towel in the corner and sank in the water too. Yoh cursed himself for wanting Ren to appear. Recently it was as if everyone appeared when he thought about them... only never in the right time. If Ren waited just a minute... Only one more!

"It doesn't matter," he muttered barely holding his face out of the warmth. "I didn't talk to anyone."

"I just want to know where you got all that energy," Ren grunted as an answer. "Till I dragged that damned package here... Why didn't Nee-san just post it? But, honestly," he added seriously, "why do you psych yourself out? The tournament has just been cancelled, right?"

Yoh couldn't answer anything to that, so he only shrugged. He couldn't tell the truth, and he didn't want to lie (not to mention he didn't have the slightest idea about  _what_  to lie), so he stayed silent. But Ren wasn't going to have that.

"You're planning to do something." He looked at him with gimlet eyes.

"I'm not," Yoh denied without blinking. The Chinese shaman made a face, but he left it at that. He hesitated for some time, then when Yoh was about to get out of the bath, he spoke after all.

"Listen, Yoh..."

"Huh?"

"If there's... I mean..." He had visible difficulties with saying what he wanted, but Yoh already understood. "You lot never left me in trouble either. So if there's anything... just tell me."

 _Yes, please ask Bason to kill Hao,_  Yoh wanted to say, but of course he didn't. He just nodded and smiled at Ren, then left the onsen. After he drew the fusuma back into place, the smile vanished instantly, and the despair of the last hours came back.

His legs and waist were still hurting from the marathon so much that he was just barely able to walk up the stairs. He knew that a good sleep would easily solve this, because it was like that other times too, but he also knew that if it depended on Anna, the good sleep would only be half a good sleep, because she would drag him out of bed at sunrise. But now even that didn't bother him. He felt a pang of conscience when thinking about not rescuing Amidamaru sooner, but all he could think about was sleeping – and, come to think about it, the thought of helping Hao out with anything didn't light him up too much either. So he just went into his room, fell to his futon and closed his eyes. The house can collapse, he was going to sleep.

"Die, Hao," he murmured into his pillow as a last thought, then he fell asleep.

A shadow moved at the corner, went to the window and looked out.

"Good night to you too, Yoh..." he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> motsu = to hold, to own, to carry, to rule ; fusuma = paper door ; futon = Japanese style bed ; tatami = floor-mat ; Sen-Hachijuu = 1080 beads


	3. Part Three: Yodomu

The weather turned cold, as it always did at this time of the year. The summer warmth flew away like it was never there at all, giving its place to chilly dawns, windy mornings, rainy afternoons and shivering evenings. Winter was still far away, but autumn has definitely arrived.

Yoh always had a hard time waking up when it was cold. At winters there were times when he didn't even wake up when Anna called him, not to mention Amidamaru. But now it was only autumn, the beginning of it at most, and yet...

"This is strange," the  _itako_  girl leaned against the wall after he didn't seem to wake up even after her third call. Moreover, Amidamaru was nowhere to be found. "Did he exhaust himself that much yesterday? If only I knew what for..."

As she could think nothing else to do, she went down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, or, to be correct, to make Ryu prepare breakfast. But there she only found Ren sitting over a mug of milk and gazing into midair.

"Ohayou..." he grumbled when she entered the room. "Is Yoh still sleeping?"

Anna nodded, and Ren mumbled something under his breath that greatly resembled "lazy bastard", but she couldn't tell exactly. However, he looked up at her next sentence, his eyes widening.

"Find out what's wrong with him."

"What?" The Chinese shaman felt taken aback.

"You heard me."

"Don't order me around!" Ren jumped up so vehemently that the remaining milk splashed onto the floor from his mug.

"You're acting like you don't care," Anna stated, tilting her head. "And clear that mess off the floor before it soaks into the tatami." With this, she left the kitchen elegantly.

Ren swore, and started to mop the spilt milk up with a couple of napkins. While he was doing this, he reluctantly agreed with Anna. Yoh's behaviour  _did_  worry him. Usually, Yoh didn't stir a finger if Anna didn't order him to do so, but now he had ran until he collapsed in front of the gates. Then later at the onsen he acted as ratty and sullen as Ren would. It was highly unusual and suspicious.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the sound of screeching brakes outside, nor the steps getting closer. He only came to his senses when someone spoke right beside him, and even then he reacted too slowly.

"Hey people, look who we found-...  **OUCH**!"

The inattentive speaker (who else than Horohoro) didn't notice the kneeling Ren covered by the table, and he fell right over him smoothly. The unexpected push made Ren fall on his face, right into the puddle of milk that yet had to be mopped. And of course this was the very moment when the sleepy Yoh arrived, rubbing at his eyes, with his angry fiancée at his heels. And if this wasn't enough, his hair was dripping with water.

"I still don't know what this was good for," he grumbled, than he got sight of the grovelling pair on the floor. "What are you doing, guys?"

"Hey, Yoh," Horohoro grinned at him. Ren could only groan.

"Get off me already, you oversized idiot!"

"Oh, sorry dude, I forgot. Your back is kinda comfortable..." Horohoro tried to get up but he hit his head on the corner of the table. "Ow!"

"Jeez, how can someone be so..." Ren didn't finish his sentence, he rather crawled out from under the hissing shaman prodding the lump on the top of his head, and stood up.

"Hi, Horo." Yoh started methodically squeezing his hair dry from water that had been poured on him by his dear fiancée... he only seemed to forget that he was standing right at the middle of the dining room.

"Yoh!" Anna pealed immediately.

"What?" he blinked.

"Don't squish the water here!"

"Oh, I forgot," he laughed, then went to the bathroom to dry himself up. Anna stood at the doorway with her arms crossed and watched as the two boys muddled. Horohoro was still busy whining about his lump, and Ren obviously succeeded in moping the floor – only he now needed to wash his shirt.

"So, who did you bring with you?" the girl asked.

"Oh, yes," Horohoro remembered, but before he could finish to figures appeared at the door, making any explanations unnecessary. One of them was Ryu, who went to gather Horohoro from the north for a visit (in which he obviously succeeded), and the other one was none other than Lyserg.

"Hello," the green-haired shaman smiled. "I was planning to visit you, since Yoh-kun invited me last time... then I met Ryu-san and Horohoro-kun on their way, and... so here I am."

"I can see that," Anna said. She paid no more attention to the newcomers. "Did anyone see Faust? I want to ask him something."

"He's on the roof with Eliza," Yoh arrived back with a towel on his head. "But, if I were you, I wouldn't-..."

But his protest was to no avail, she already left at the direction of the attic. When she got something into her head...

Yoh felt pleased and displeased at the same time about their sudden visitors. He knew that if he happened to be alone, Hao would appear, and he didn't have any other plan than avoiding his older brother for the time being. However, he also needed to ask where Amidamaru was, and for that talking to Hao was necessary. This wasn't as easy as he thought, since somebody was always around. If he said he'd go for a walk, Manta always accompanied him, if he wanted to train, Ren, Ryu or Faust always volunteered. In the end he never trained with them, of course; he had to make up something as an excuse since he had no main spirit. He couldn't count on Hao, apparently.

It was already way into the evening when he was able to shake off everyone and went for a walk, this time alone. When he made sure no one was around, he stopped at a tree in the park.

"Hao," he said silently. The spirit appeared immediately, again with that frightening emptiness on his face. He didn't speak, just looked at his younger twin, and Yoh found himself asking something else than he originally wanted. "Why are you here?"

Hao stayed silent for a bit.

"I don't know that myself," he answered in the end.

"What kind of answer is that?" Yoh demanded, but he followed Hao, who started walking on the street. As he didn't get any answer, he tried asking elsehow. "How did you get here in the first place? Did you possess Silva?"

"Silva volunteered by himself," Hao answered hesitating. Yoh snorted. "Really," Hao glanced at him. "All right, he didn't want to help me, but it wasn't me who made him. He just had to take me to you anyways."

"And what do you want from me?" came the evident question.

"Well, this is what I can't answer myself... yet." This sounded truthful. "For starters, you could be less belligerent towards me."

"Belligerent?" Yoh felt dumbfounded. "Does that  _surprise_  you? You tried to kill or to manipulate everyone who is important to me, and you're asking me to be less _belligerent_?"

Hao turned his head the other way.

"I didn't plan it like that," he said slowly. Yoh stopped in his tracks.

"What are you talking about?"

"I came because I wanted to... straighten things out."

"That means payback, right?" Yoh made a face.

"Yes, you can say that," Hao admitted. "But..." He fell silent for a moment, then started talking about something different. "You also saw that falling star yesterday, right?"

"Yes, but–"

"And did you make a wish?"

"Well... yeah, I think I did. But that's none of your business."

"Well then, this is what I wished for." Hao turned back to face him. "To make things clear. And the Great Spirits decided they'd make it come true... it's just that it's not how I imagined."

Yoh started to understand. He started to walk again, this time Hao was following him. The younger shaman digged his hands into his pockets and stared at the stars. From this place they weren't as clear than from the hill in the graveyard, but he could still see plenty.

"So instead of carrying out your revenge on me, you're stuck with me, and..." He didn't finish his sentence, but Hao knew what he wanted to say.

"I don't know what you have to do to get back your spirit. One thing is for sure: he can't return while I'm here... but I don't know how to leave. I'm stuck with you," he repeated.

"Gorgeous!" Yoh suddenly busted with unusual irritation. "But yesterday you still tried to fool me! And you still wonder why I loathe you, Hao!"

Hao's face darkened, but once again, he didn't speak. For a long time, they walked in dead silence, until they reached the end of the park. Yoh was fuming about why he had come out in the first place, since it didn't have any result at all, but at the same time he thought that Hao could've easily repay him for his last comment, yet he didn't. When he made sure that his older brother wasn't paying attention, he glanced backwards. Hao walked behind him silently, fixing his gaze on the ground. If it wasn't about Hao, Yoh would have felt a pang of conscience, but now he was just wondering about his strange behaviour.

Hao knew precisely which was the moment his younger brother turned around, though he didn't look up once. He thought he knew what Yoh was thinking about, and it surprised him how unpleasant it made him feel. When he had come here with Silva, all he could think about had been to kill Yoh, to get his revenge on him... but this had somehow disappeared from within him somewhere along the way. Maybe it was when they merged for the first time. Regardless that Yoh didn't want it to happen, Hao was, dead or not, strong enough to create a full Hyoui Gattai... but with this he ended up getting to know more about his brother than he had wanted. He had no intention of telling him this, yet, the endless wrath somehow frayed in a blink of an eye, giving its place to some painful emptiness that Hao was unable to get rid of ever since.

None of them noticed that at the end of the park, where they were heading, a figure was standing, waiting for them, and watching the pair walking in quasi-understanding, especially the one walking at the back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Japanese words: yodomu = to be stagnant, to deposit, to settle, to hesitate, to stammer ; itako = Spiritualistic Medium ; ohayou = good morning


	4. Part Four: Toushi

"I don't believe this!"

Yoh winced and looked up. Hao disappeared with a flash of light, but it was too late. Yoh started to pray silently that his brother changed his mind, but that was very unlikely.

"I can explain this–" he started, but the other pealed.

"How could you bring back Hao? You, of all people, who... Yoh-kun!"

"Listen–" he started again, but he was cut in again.

"You've been lying to us all the time... and I... we... we trusted you! How can this be...?"

"Would you shut up for a moment, Lyserg?" Yoh yelled at the younger shaman, losing his patience. The green-haired boy went silent immedately. "This is not what you think it is!"

"Then what?" Lyserg scraped up some courage.

"It's–" Yoh closed his mouth as he suddenly felt Hao.

He didn't know why he waited until now, but it was obvious that he still wanted vengeance (or at least that was what Yoh thought), and he didn't want to allow him a chance to explain. And from the exact moment he possessed Yoh, the younger brunette was unable to speak or move, at least not by his own will.

"It doesn't matter, now, does it?"

"What?" Lyserg didn't believe his ears. Yoh suddenly realized it was him who spoke, but he said something totally different from what he wanted to say.

"You can't tell anyone about what you've seen."

"But... So then you're on Hao's side?" the English boy stammered. "That's outrageous!"

"Outrageous?" Yoh heard his own voice, but it was Hao spilling the words. "I'm afraid I have to kill you right now, then."

_No... this can't be happening... Hao! Stop it!_

But Hao didn't listen to him at all; he went straight for the stunned Lyserg, and Yoh couldn't do anything else but to do the same. Fortunately at least without Amidamaru, the Harusame was useless, but "thanks to" the lots of training, Yoh had quite a strength alone, and he was sure that Lyserg didn't stand a chance even without weapons. Lyserg didn't even have time to call Morphine, the first punch hit his face already. His mouth split and started to bleed, and he fell on the ground. But this wasn't enough for Hao. If Yoh was able to, he would have simply shut off his mind so he didn't have to watch it all. But he couldn't, because it was Lyserg; Lyserg, who was his friend, whom he had to protect from the mindless wrath of his brother. The problem was just that he couldn't overcome the spirit however he tried. While he had been alive, there had been a chance to overcome him, but in his death he was stronger than Yoh could imagine. If at least Amidamaru was there... but he wasn't  _because_  Hao was.

"I'll make you pay for this!" the green-haired boy roared, his face twisted.

" _Chicchai-na..._ " Hao sighed scenically. Lyserg froze upon hearing the frighteningly familiar words. He never would have thought that one day he would hear them from Yoh-kun's mouth.

After the fourth or fifth heavy hit, Yoh started to beg, but it didn't help either.

"Why did you come here in the first place, you little mongrel?" hissed Hao with Yoh's mouth. "Nobody asked you to nose in my business!"

"But... you invited me, Yoh-kun!" Lyserg whimpered, trying to fight back his tears. "Don't you remember? When you went home, you said... you said that–"

He couldn't continue as he got a big slap again, this time on the left part of his chin. By now, the boy gave up fighting totally, it seemed that the fact that it was Yoh-kun who humbled him like this totally scorched him.

 _Lyserg, don't give up!_  Yoh shouted from the inside, but it was useless, his voince didn't reach.

**It's useless, otouto. He can't hear you.**

_How does this serve you, Hao?_  Yoh hissed, but of course he didn't get any answer.

At the next moment he observed as long, sharp claws gre on both of his hands, similar to the hands of Hao's element, the Spirit of Fire.  _Oversoul...?_

_Hao, don't!_

Once again, no effect. The clawed hands stooped without Yoh being able to do anything. Lyserg arrived on his back with a huge crack and lost consciousness. To Yoh it seemed long minutes passed until Hao finally released him, although it was only moments. The young shaman took notice of his freedom with a relieved sigh, then ran to his friend.

"Lyserg!"

The boy came round with difficulty, and when he saw Yoh leaning over him, his eyes went wide.

"Don't!" he shouted desperately and crawled away as fast as he could. "Leave me alone!" Yoh's face darkened. He didn't make any movements to grab the other shaman, and Lyserg noted this as a chance to escape. He got on his feet immediately, and crippled away.

Yoh fell to his knees. He was still huffing from the strain that his brother forced on his body. As Hao left him, the frightening claws also disappeared, but the mistake couldn't be redeemed now, and what he had seen in Lyserg's eyes was worse than anything he had to endure from Hao.

"What was this good for?" he shouted out helplessly. As Hao's figure appeared in front of him, he slapped after him, but he didn't reach. The spirit floated away with something on his face that irritatingly resembled a smile, and swayed his head.

"I already told you, it's useless to fight against me," he murmured. "What else do you want?"

"Leave my friends alone!" Yoh yelled, but his answer was only a soft giggle to that too. "It wasn't... it wasn't Lyserg's fault to begin with... Anyway, what does it matter that he saw you?"

An odd, withdrawn expression appeared on Hao's face.

"Nobody can see me," he answered simply.

"Why not?"

Hao turned into mist. Yoh blinked around scandalised, but he couldn't see anyone nearby. He was alone in the middle of the park.

"Asakura Yoh?"

Yoh looked up. He was nearly back at the inn now; he didn't want anything else than to sleep and forget this nightmare, and he wished that he didn't have to explain himself to anyone – and most importantly that he didn't have to look Lyserg in the eye. He didn't have the slightest idea of what to say to him, as every explanation seemed unreal, even the one that was actually the truth... not to mention he couldn't tell the truth, since if he did, Hao would return and really... really killed the boy.

The three people standing in front of him didn't seem friendly. He knew them: Kanna, Mari and Matilda, the three women from Hana-gumi, Hao's minions.  _This day is getting better and better..._

Yoh decided to wait for the inevitable with raised head. He leant on the empty, useless sword sheath and smiled.

"I defeated Hao. What do you want from me?"

"What would we want?" Kanna shoved her cigarette to the corner of her mouth with her tongue. The wind blew her turquoise hair as she flashed Yoh a look. "Revenge."

"You couldn't defeat me last time," he reminded them. He was still hoping they would change their mind, but it was less than likely. And yes, Matilda could see through him easily.

"You won't talk yourself out of this, Asakura Yoh!" she shouted. "We're much stronger than we were then!"

"Ah, sou ka?" Yoh rubbed at the back of his head. "Then it will be easy, since I don't have any spirit or medium..."

_What an idiot you are! Why did you tell that?_

Yoh started. For a moment, he could swear he heard Manta's voice, but he brushed the thought aside. There wasn't time for this now.

"What?" Kanna growled. She started an attack with her Oversoul, but when she saw that the boy was only defending himself with his arms, she stopped.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Macchi said miscreditingly.

"It'll be easier to kill him like this," was the opinion of the blue-haired woman. But the blonde one just crossed her arms and didn't move.

"Mari doesn't do this," she announced. "It's boring. Not even a shaman fight. Just get rid of him and let's go."

"As you please..." Kanna shrugged.

Then she stooped.

Yoh's defence was worth nothing at all: he just crossed his arms above his head, pressed Harusame's sheath to his forehead and prayed; to the gods, and to someone to come and help him already. Normally he didn't mind if he had to shift for himself. Moreover, he didn't like to come upon others, except for the spirits, but his present spirit was...

"I hope you're enjoying the performance, Hao," he hissed when he flew back after an unusually strong hit, and his right shin bone gave in with a crack. Now he could barely move; the sharp pain starting from his limb spread across his whole body, and for a couple of moments he was grateful that he could breathe at all.

"What?" the red-haired Matilda recoiled upon hearing the last sentence.

"Stop it," Mari said suddenly. "This is not funny at all."

"What do you mean by that?" Kanna blinked.

"I want to  _defeat_  him, not to screw around with some powerless, measly shaman-imitation!" the blonde stamped. "When he found his spirit, he will come and fight us! Right?"

"Mari-chan..." the other two started dumbfounded.

"Right, Asakura Yoh?"

"Ehe..." Yoh couldn't really concentrate on anything other than his aching parts, but he gave a small nod. The next moment the three women disappeared in front of his eyes. He was left alone once again, this time lying at the root of a tree with his leg broken, unable to move.

Rain slowly started pouring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dictionary: toushi = fighting spirit; Chicchai-na = Hao's peculiar sentence, means "how small"; Ah, sou ka? = Oh, really?


	5. Part Five: Omou

When autumn comes, raining becomes an everyday happening in Japan. Moreover, it often happens that it doesn't even stop for days; huge drips pour and pour from the sky endlessly. Maybe they are lamenting the coming death of nature, even if it isn't death, only a long sleep. The yellow-brown coloured leaves proceed in their last dance, enveloping the world in a dizzy cavalcade, then they fall to the ground lifelessly, giving their place to the next generation.

It had been raining for the past half an hour when Lyserg returned to the Inn. Surprisingly he found nobody there, but as he thought about it, it was unequivocal: Anna-san had gone to Izumo, for Kino-sama asked her to, Faust and Tamao were doing some shopping, Manta was at cram school, Ren was who knows where, maybe training somewhere, Ryu-san went to ride his motorcycle taking Horo-horo along, and Yoh-kun was...

As he thought of Yoh, his heart sank.  _How could he do something like this? How_ did _he do it anyways? Hao died! Didn't he...?_

This thought shocked him.  _Maybe Yoh didn't want to kill Hao in the first place? Maybe he was on his side all along... but, no, that's impossible!_

He didn't want to think about this, he rather searched for some bandage to cover his wounds with. On his way home Morphine had caught up with him, so now at least her presence consoled him a little. The small spirit was totally startled to see what happened to her master, but Lyserg wasn't angry with her. It wasn't her fault but... Yoh-kun's... and Hao's. It was just... this was so hard to comprehend...

His wounds weren't as serious as much they hurt: on the right side of his face were deep scratches starting from under his eye down to the tip of his chin, his left ankle was sprained, and his back was full with blue and black marks of his falling down, but that was all. He was very cautious in cleaning the scratches, and the antiseptic was burning his skin like Hell, but he smeared it anyway. When he was ready, he sat down on the veranda, and stared at the sky. It was really late, maybe later than eleven o'clock, yet he felt like he couldn't stay in one place for long. So while he was waiting for the others' arrival, he called Morphine and started to practise. At least he didn't have to think about anything meanwhile.

As a matter of fact, he was glad nobody was home – at least he didn't have to explain himself to anyone –, but as time passed by, the cuts on his face started aching more and more, and it would've been better if he could've asked Faust to ease the pain. Some time later the aching became so unbearable that he had to stop; he reeled back his wire one last time, then went in the house. He soon returned with a piece of cloth soaked in cold water, which he pushed to his face to cool the burning, and sat back down to the edge of the veranda. He waited like this, with Morphine on his side, for the others' return.

Meanwhile, Hao was strolling along the never-calming roads of Tokyo, lost in his own thoughts, and he didn't even pay attention to the possibility of being seen by a wandering shaman. Not as if there was a great chance of that happening. So he just went, floated where his feet were taking him, and thought about his brother's words meanwhile. He had been angry before, but now he only felt nonplussed. He realized he wasn't able to do anything about the situation, and this was maddening. When he had come here with the help of Silva, he would've done anything to get his revenge. Earlier in his life, he would have never thought that his „other half" would do something that made him interested... after all, the boy did a remarkable thing with defeating him once, but the Asakuras can't always have luck! But then later on, he had to realize he still had some uneasy feeling he had to erase before moving on to his next reincarnation.

No, that wasn't correct like that. There wasn't any point in lying to himself: the truth was that while he had this strange question in him that he didn't know what the answer was to, not to mention get into shape at all, he couldn't go on. He just wasn't able to. And as it all started to become too complicated, he made it easier for himself: Yoh had taken something from him, which he had to recuperate before returning again, five hundred years later.

The only thing he had to figure was what that something was.

He didn't pay attention to where he was going, just slided down the endlessly long roads; dry leaves were twirling around him and rain started mizzling more and more. But he seemed to recognise none of this. He was thinking about what was missing. He was more and more sure that it was something he lost a very long time ago. To the question that why was that thing with Yoh, he couldn't find any suitable answer.

The moon disappeared behind a huge cloud.

To Yoh, it seemed like rain was obliterating everything around him. Not only the leaves falling off trees or the mud with them, but concrete and distant houses too; the whole world liquefied and guttered down in front of his eyes. He hadn't a clue to how long he had been sitting at the bottom of the tree without moving, minutes just passed by and he was mulling over how much more time it would cost until the pain would let him stand up and go home, and whether it was going to happen sooner than the others started searching for him. Of course, if he really had wanted, he would have been able to stand up – after all, when he had fought with Faust, he had been able to fight with broken bones –, but now, as nor him nor his friends were in danger, he didn't feel enough motivation to overcome it.

After some time his thoughts wandered to Lyserg and Hao. He knew that the English shaman was hating him, and this hurt even more than the bone... but if he came up with the truth, Hao would come around again to finish what he had started, and Yoh rather preferred being hated than Lyserg being killed.

He didn't really understand what happened in the second fight. Though he didn't want to call Hao, a tiny part of him had been clinging to a hope that he would appear and help him out. After all, they were his minions, right? Or... maybe this was his plan all along? Yoh could imagine that.

The pain now became totally unbearable; his leg swell three times its original size around his shin bone. He was also aware of the fact that he didn't really have a chance of being found within reasonable time, only if maybe Hao, but he...

Well, after all, it was worth a try.

"Hao..." he whispered, but of course, no answer came.

Yoh slowly slid through the confine of consciouslessness.

Hao stopped dead for a moment. He had a sudden feeling, like he was struck with a lightning bolt. Then he brushed the thought aside, but he couldn't dismiss the thought entirely that something changed in the air. After some time, he found himself going in a defined direction, though that wasn't where he had wanted to go first, and if he listened closely, it was as if someone kept repeating his name somewhere in the distance.

_Yoh?_

As his brother came to his mind, he stopped again. For a moment, his image came to his mind, along with his last words to him.  _"... and you still wonder why I loathe you?"_

He shivered, as if trying to shake off a bad dream, but the sentence stayed in his head and he couldn't make it vanish. After some time he simply gave up and went on, letting that mysterious power draw him into that direction.

And then, he just realised what he was missing. And at the same time, he also realised he had known it before.

_Yoh._

Maybe just not the way he had thought. But he didn't want to think about that, not now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dictionary: omou = to think, to feel


	6. Part Six: Mitsukeru

_There are certain moments in your life when you realise things you cannot gainsay to yourself anymore. It's just like a sort of flash of light. Like a thunderbolt has just struck you, or when after an abundant storm, the clouds go away and the sky becomes clear. Maybe you have been thinking about something without avail, then it suddenly hits you, and if you think back later, it's a laughably easy solution, and you're only surprised about the fact that it didn't occur to you earlier. It might be that you denied it before, but you can't do that anymore either. Or maybe you have to confess something, not only to yourself. Suddenly you have a feeling that it woul be great if the world became a better place, and if you wanted, you would be able to do something for it as well._

_Shamans call this "the Great Spirits have grabbed the nook of your heart"._

Yoh came to the sound of someone calling his name continuously. He tried to open his eyes, but one of them had become completely swollen, and he could barely see with the other one. For a start, he could only make out that rain was still heavily pouring, and someone was kneeling beside him. For a moment he didn't even know where he was, then the past hours' happenings dawned on him. Now it had to be really late, maybe even past midnight.

"Yoh, come to your senses!"

He was still unsure about who that person was, gently slapping his face. The first he could think about... but no, that was outrageous...

"I'm here," he mumbled and shivered. He just realised that his clothes were totally soaked and he felt really cold.

"Holy Spirits, Yoh, you're frozen!" Did the voice hold anxiety, or was he just imagining things? "You're shivering!"

"Ha... Hao?" Yoh started coughing. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was searching for you, fool," came the lofty answer.

"I'm fine," Yoh shook it off, while he started to wonder if the world has turned upside down or was it him having some sort of feverish dream. Hao, worrying for him? That's worse than Chocolove's jokes. He tried to stand up, but he had forgotten about his broken leg. "Ow!"

"What did you do, Yoh, for crying out loud?"

Yoh hung on to the trunk of the tree and struggled to his knees to face his brother. With some scrunching he opened his other eye, and he gave him the most angry look he could manage in his current state.

"I fought in a Shaman Fight."

"What –... How?"

"Well, that's a pretty good question," he swayed his head. "After all, my medium is useless, as my main spirit  _disappeared_... and who's in place of him I wouldn't wish for my worst enemy. Wait, that's you..."

Hao's face darkened. For a moment Yoh thought he would get back at him for this, or at least retort something equally rude, but instead of this, something strange happened: the other shaman nodded.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I didn't want this to –"

"Of course," Yoh cut in, and his sarcasm made Hao shut his mouth. "I'm not stupid, Hao."

"What?" he blinked.

"It were your minions who attacked me," Yoh stated accusingly.

"I didn't know about it."

"Of course," he repeated and tried to stand up again, but failed disgracefully again.

"If I... borrow your body, can you go home?" Hao asked silently. Yoh only shook his head. "Then what should I do?"

"Get lost!" his younger twin lost his patience. "I'll solve this on my own, none of your concern!"

Hao's face closed entirely, now not a single feeling was apparent on it. He let Yoh fall back to the ground as he lost his remaining strength, while he stood up.

"I'll bring some help."

Yoh didn't answer, so he turned and disappeared into nothingness.

Lyserg froze right on the spot as the ghost slowly appeared in front of him out of the darkness. For a moment he thought he was having some sort of nightmare, but then he had to accept it was the truth really. His expression went from stunned to dread.

"H – Hao..." he groaned with shivering lips. But the soul of the shaman just floated in front of him and said nothing.

He had already made sure nobody else was within reach, yet he didn't know how to start. Of course, he could've just possessed the boy like he had done with Yoh back then, but... he didn't really want that. If he had dared to think about it, he would have known that it was because he knew how much Yoh would hate him for it, but like this, he only knew that if he possessed a shaman and made a full Hyoui Gattai, then (as it usually was like), he would've gotten everything that came with it; everything in the said shaman's soul. Hao had met this before when he had possessed Yoh; at that time, he was unprepared for it, but now he knew what to expect... and he definitely didn't want the green-haired boy's every feeling to pin themselves on him. He could imagine what many feelings could swirl now inside him... and he surprisedly observed that something bestirred itself in him. A feeling that slightly resembled guilt, and he could hardly deny it anymore – so he didn't.

Minutes just passed by, and the two of them, like they froze in time, just stood and stared at each other. Then, after all, it was Lyserg who first woke up and scratched up his voice.

"How did you come here and what do you want?"

To the nearly provoking tone, Hao's first reaction was the same as always: to defend himself, he attacked. That guilt-sort-of thing he had felt a moment before vanished like it had never been there in the first place, and when he spoke, he was just like his old self again.

"You still have the nerve to oppose me? You little mongrel."

Lyserg clenched his fists.  _Now or never. I've had enough... of everyone._

"I'm not so little now," he stared right into the other one's face defiantly. "Nor so easily vincible."

"Or so you think," Hao smiled. But meanwile, he got more and more nervous, he didn't know why.

"Last time I'm asking: why are you here?" Lyserg straightened himself, and wouldn't have admitted to himself for the life of his that he was afraid.

For a moment, Hao was staggered by the heavy tone of the boy. He wouldn't have thought that the small kid whose parents had been so easy to kill would grow himself out to an acrid young man like he was now. Lyserg wasn't a child anymore, as Hao never had really been, and he suddenly couldn't do anything with it. So as his last chance, he did the only thing he could: he was being honest.

"I want you to come with me... to Yoh."

"I beg your pardon?" the English shaman blinked.

"Which word surpasses your intellect?" asked the ghostly figure nearly benignly. "I need your help."

If that can be said, Lyserg became even more stunned. Hao seemed to be honest, and he had the nerves to ask for  _his_  help. But the boy wasn't stupid; he slowly got the pieces together.

"What have you done to Yoh-kun?" he accused the other.

"Nothing!" Hao pealed. Of course, he knew that was a lie, and he was sure Lyserg knew it as well, but this wasn't the time to confess his wrongdoings ruefully. First he had to get some help for his little brother. However unbelievably that sounds. "I'm just –"

"Just what?" Lyserg still didn't move.

"Just come already!" Hao lost his patience.

The green-haired boy carefully ran his fingers down the traces of the talons on his face which as time went by became more and more swollen and purple, and closed his eyes.

"What do you think, Morphine? Should I trust the murderer of my parents, who turned my friends against me as well?"

Hao took a deep breath, but then he decided not to say anything; he just waited. And the incredible that none of them waited for happened: the little fairy looked at her master with glistening eyes, and slowly nodded.

"You think I should believe him?" Lyserg didn't believe his eyes.

Morphine nodded again, and pointed her finger at Hao. The boy followed her gaze. The once dreaded shaman's face was completely unreadable; he closed himself up into his thoughts. Even that superior expression that was so like him had disappeared.

"All right," the boy sighed. "I'll come with you. But if you're attempting to fool me..."

To that, Hao didn't even answer anything. He turned around and started to go to where he had come from. Lyserg followed him, albeit reluctantly, with his beloved spirit sitting on his shoulder.

It took them nearly half an hour to get back to the place where Hao left Yoh. The boy was still there, but he looked awful. It looked like he was just barely conscious, his clothes were soaked, and he was constantly shivering.

"Yoh-kun!" Lyserg somehow ended up forgetting about all his previous anger with him.

Yoh opened his eyes and painfully blinked at the other one.

"Lyserg..." he murmured. His voice sounded hoarse; he must have caught a bad cold. "I'm... I'm sorry that –"

"It doesn't matter now," the English shaman answered silently. When he saw the way Yoh glanced at him, it became even more obvoius for him that it wasn't the brunette who was responsible for what had happened, but Hao... who, by the way, was standing behind the green-haired boy's back, and strove to hide his face from them. He felt some sort of relief, knowing that Lyserg wasn't angry with his brother, even if that meant he was angry with him instead. He now knew that Yoh was going to get home safe and sound (if that could be said); and somehow that was just enough for him to be relieved.

Lyserg held out his hanWater was now streaming from Lyserg's hair as well. Small creeks poured down his face, only to change directions when they reached the crude wounds. Yoh watched guiltily. In a careless moment, he lost his balance and staggered to the trunk, but the other grabbed and held him. Then Lyserg took him round the waist and let him lean on his shoulder in order not to oppress his wounded leg.

By the time they struggled out to the road and started heading home, Hao disappeared to somewhere unknown. Neither of them missed him too much.

"Lyserg..." Yoh said some time later, when they were nearly halfway homw, but it was still a long way to go.

"Are you tired?" the other one turned to him.. Yoh shook his head.

"No, I just wanted to say... I'm really sorry."

"It's not your fault," Lyserg said, and turned back to watching where they stepped. "It's Hao's."

Yoh shook his head again, and that made Lyserg stare at him incredulously.

"I should have been stronger. I should have been able to get rid of him, like earlier, when he sealed my sould in him.

"You weren't alone at that time," Lyserg reminded him. "We were there, and Amidamaru as well..."

Yoh's heart sank. He suddenly realised just how much he missed the samurai. And not just because he was his main spirit, but because he was his friend as well. He still had no idea how to bring him back, and, as Hao also claimed he didn't either (and Yoh was fain to believe him), itt seemed there was a chance he never saw him again. Even the thought hurt.

"I should be... stronger..." he murmured. "I shouldn't... leave it as it is. I promised myself... I wouldn't do things I am incapable of, but... sometimes I must..."

"You can't be always strong, Yoh-kun," Lyserg said carefully, then, as no answer came, he added, "You have friends in order to not to need to always be strong. You taught me this."

You laughed.

Although the rain had already stopped when they arrived at the inn, they were both soaked enough to look incredibly pathetic. Now Lyserg was sodden as well, and Yoh was shivering so much that the green-haired boy was afraid he might had a fever. This time neither of them cared about the future wrath of Anna: they just collapsed beside the wall at the forefront, and they were so glad they could breath again and have roof over their heads that they couldn't care less about soaking the tatami with water. After some time, Lyserg collected himself and stumbled away to get some towels to get themselves dry.

Later, when they could gather themselves to go in the living room, and they got some blankets as well, Lyserg carefully remarked,

"I'm worried. Where are the others?"

Yoh was sitting at the wall, stretching his injured leg, and shrugged. It was around half past one.

"They'll get home. Anna only tomorrow, though, and I think the same goes for Ryu and Horo..."

"Faust can surely help," the other one added.

"I hope so."

Lyserg went silent again, then after a couple of moments asked,

"What do you think... does he hear what we're talking even now?"

"Who?" Yoh gave a start, waking from his half-sleeping state. It looked like he didn't really catch the change if the subject. "Faust?"

"No... Hao."

"Uh..." The brunette tried to change his position, but he soon gave up as it was too painful. "I don't know, he might. But, listen, Lyserg..."

Lyserg turned his head.

" _Nani?_ "

Yoh exhaled with a small sigh. A strange audacity reflected on his face, like he had decided something irreversibly.

"I don't want to play this all over again, not with you, nor with someone else. If Hao only came to have fun with me, I won't let him have his way."

"What do you mean by that?" Lyserg blinked.

"I didn't think it over enough," Yoh answered silently. "Now I know it isn't worth it to me. I don't want you to get into trouble because of me again. If he possessed me again, and any of you got into trouble... join forces against me, and defeat me."

Lyserg found himself forgetting to breathe. At first, he would have agreed to it in an instant, and yet he was hesitating. And not just because it was about Yoh-kun.

"Maybe... he didn't come just because of that."

"What...? Then why?" Yoh didn't understand.

"After all..." Lyserg couldn't quite explain it even to himself. What he felt now didn't make him hate Hao less much, but... somehow he felt he owed the truth, first to Yoh, second to himself. After he sought justice for all his life, he had to give it to others as well. "He was the one who called help for you, wasn't he? And... he really did look like he was worried for you."

"Worried? Hao?" Yoh laughed heartily. "Don't be joking. And anyways, it was his fault I ended up beaten to begin with," he added. "It's the least anyone can expect, right?"

"In a normal case, yes, but if you think about it, nobody would expect that of Hao."

Well, that made some sense.

"Hao and remorse are three different things," the Englishman added. Yoh chuckled.

"Yeah, and there are three kinds of people, those who can count and those who can't..."

That made Lyserg laugh too.

"I can see your leg isn't that painful now, Yoh-kun..."

"Damn it is," Yoh growled. "Where on Earth are Faust and the others?"

The time came. Hao wasn't waiting for it too eagerly, but now he couldn't do anything about it. He had to think things over, everything he believed in or hoped. So many things welled up in him, he had no choice but find answers, and if nothing else, he knew these answers were inside him, he just had to bring them to the surface. He had to think over what had happened and what to do now.

It was a really unknown feeling that made its way to his heart when he had seen Yoh lying under that tree. He hadn't even dared to accept in front of himself that he had worried.

After all, it wasn't that Hao was unable to feel worry, or that he didn't care about anyone other than himself. It was just that he got unused to it. He had spent too many years without having anyone to worry for. After some time he put it across himself that it wasn't worth it, because everyone would leave him, turn against him or start to be afraid of him sooner or later anyways. Maybe it happened to him too many times throughout his reincarnations, over and over again, and it made him a little bit crazy.

Moreover, if this new worry wasn't enough, he also felt a sense of guilt for leaving the other one all alone. He had never thought that he would be responsible for his younger brother, yet, this was what he thought now. And it wasn't only because he was his younger brother, or so he thought, though maybe that also had to do with it. Although they never had been  _really_  siblings. No, the main reason was that Hao knew he was the reason Yoh didn't have anyone to fight with. Here he had come, taken the place of the samurai, then he hadn't done what a main spirit's task was. And Hao, however different his values were from others, was a shaman first, and if he had thought over it, he wouldn't have deprived another shaman from his only helper. That was dishonorable, even from his view.

But now it made no difference. He wasn't able to get Yoh Amidamaru, so he had to take his place completely and help Yoh. At least that is, if Yoh accepts it, after all that had happened.

The painful void that had appeared in Hao when he first merged with his brother hadn't disappeared since, moreover, it kept growing bigger and bigger. Hao never felt so lost in his entire lives.

Slowly, a determination seeded in him. Whatever it takes, he will win Yoh over! Yeah, he never fully understood why Yoh hadn't accepted his views when he "gifted" them with the  _Chou Senji Ryakketsu_ , and everything inside... but that was Yoh all right, really stubborn. At first Hao had liked this in him, later it started to irritate him. Now he wasn't sure about anything anymore.

Maybe his brother wasn't stubborn, it was just him starting at the wrong end...?

Anyway, it wouldn't do any harm to try once more. There wasn't any downer than this.

Suddenly a feeling caught him; an urge, a need that his brother agreed with him, that he thought and felt the same way. Hao was unable to explain this strange, unexpected feeling, it just  _was_. He just wished for Yoh... to accept him.

It was just that he knew it well that in the light of the past events, what he wished for was impossible.

First Ren came home; he was most possibly training somewhere. Bason came floating behind him, and both of them seemed cheerful, although Ren was hobbling a little; he had scraped his ankle on a rock.

Yoh was still leaning to the wall, with the towel in his neck, but at least he changed his clothes (with some help) to dry ones. Lyserg was lying on the floor beside him and they were wordlessly staring at the ceiling.

"What the hell have you done with yourselves?" Ren stared when he came in and noticed the awful state Yoh was in.

"I could ask the same, you know," Yoh grinned faintly, and threw the towel at his friend. "Were you showering with your clothes on?"

"I was practising," Ren shook his head. Secretly, Yoh was glad that he didn't hit the roof because of the prodding; he must have been in a really good mode. Maybe it was because of the training. What he wasn't so glad about was that after the headshake half of the water that had been in Ren's hair ended up on him. Feeling the "shower", Lyserg sat up as well.

"And to think I was finally nearly asleep..." He wiped a few drops off his face.

"Anna will be angry if we soak the tatami," Yoh hinted, when he saw Ren blinking uncomprehendingly. The boy just groaned to this and started moping his hair with the towel.

"Where are the others?" came his muffled voice from under the fabric.

"We don't know," Lyserg answered.

"As far as I know, Faust and Tamao are doing the shopping... but they left earlier than I did," Yoh thought out loud. "I doubt anything has happened to them, but..."

"Faust can take care of himself," Ren threw the towel aside. "As a matter of fact, he can take care of Tamao as well."

Yoh blinked a few, than burst out laughing. Ren narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell's wrong with you?"

Yoh just shook his head; he was shaking with laughter so wildly that he was unable to speak. He just choked and kept pointing at Ren, but the other two didn't understand a thing.

"Did I say something stupid?" Ren inquired, his voice now holding a hint of irritation. Yoh just shook his head again. Another couple of seconds had to pass until he was able to speak.

" _Kami ga... hira... hiratai...,_ " then he continued where he left it.

Ren prodded his hair, perplexed. Lyserg realised it only now that his friend had pointed it out, and he started to chuckle too.

"You're right..."

Slowly, Ren got what was so funny as well. It wouldn't had been a problem that he was soaked, if he had left it to dry on its own accord, it would have stayed the same; but the bravo of the towel flattened it all completely. Although he didn't find it as amusing as the other two did, he could imagine what kind of image he had without his usual  _tongari_. He just shrugged, and settled down beside his friends, trying to adjust his fallen apart purple mops into a less laughable position. After some time, when the trying proved to be totally pointless, he gave up, but by that time the others (fortunately) stopped laughing.

"Anyways, seriously, what happened to you?" the Chinese shaman asked a couple of minutes later, when he finished drying himself. Yoh exchanged a glance with Lyserg, then just shook his head.

"It's better for you, Ren, if you don't know, believe me."

Ren wanted to say something, but then he just closed his mouth.

"If it was the other way around, you wouldn't stop nagging me until I gave in and told you," he said in the end.

"Yeah, but this is different," Yoh answered shortly. "If I tell you, both of our lives get in danger."

Ren just made a mouth upon hearing this.

"I don't know how you feel, but if you ask me, this situation resembles another one... in which there was a certain Asakura Yoh and a Tao En..."

"This is much worse than that. Twenty times worse. No... more likely, twenty thousand," Yoh brooded over counting Hao's power. Spirits also have furyoku. Fortunately or unfortunately, up to interpretation.

"Who...?" Ren asked dumbfounded.

"That's exactly what I can't tell."

"How would they know about it?"

"They would," Lyserg answered darkly.

"You know about it?" Ren stared at him disbelievingly.

"Yeah, I do," the English shaman turned his head, "and I wish I didn't..."

Ren couldn't say anything to this. Here was the answer Anna seeked. Ren wanted to help as well, after all, they were friends. But now he didn't know what to do. Yoh was the person who could most easily get out of others what was hurting them, but to get it out of  _him_ , only those were able whom he allowed to. It seemed that this time Ren wasn't in this category.

Fortunately, before they could argue more over it, Tamao and Faust arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dictionary: mitsukeru = to find, to find out ; nani? = what? ; Chou Senji Ryakketsu = Hao's book with which he had given Yoh and the others power ; Kami ga hiratai. = Your hair is flat.


	7. Part Seven: Oyobu

"Where on Earth have you two been?"

Faust picked up the towel from the corner where it had been thrown, and started drying his hair with it, while Tamao put the oversized hat off her head and shoved it into the tall shaman's free hand.

"Arigatou..." she muttered and flushed.

"Nothing to thanks me for," the man smiled at her from under the towel, and put down the hat. The girl nodded to the others sitting in the living room, and took the grocery bags to the kitchen.

When Faust finished drying himself, he turned to Yoh to answer his question.

"We were shopping. There were more people then we expected, so it took a bit longer. What happened to you, Yoh-kun...?"

Yoh blinked, and quickly came up with an acceptable excuse. Lyserg signed only with a flash of light in his eyes that he noticed the skew, but he knew exactly the reason the boy didn't want to tell the truth. If Faust noticed anything, he didn't show. He started to tend to their injuries silently, first the brunette's, then he handled the scratches on Lyserg's face as well. About half an hour later Ryu and Horohoro pulled in too, tired but cheerful.

Yoh decided to let, even if only for a little bit of time, things seem as if they were all right.

* * *

Daybreak came. Slowly the last stars faded, to give their places to some greyly looming light-rudiment that already promised splendor.

The train impassively jangled through the mountains, then turned to the capital. White steam twirled to the skies as dawn truly took reign.

The blonde girl placed her forehead on the window and seemed to look at the bypassing landscape negligently. But despite the early hour she was completely awake. She was thinking about what she would do when she arrived at Tokyo.

" _I hope they did the grocery shopping properly, than it won't be needed for some time... But before that, there is something else gthat I have to do."_

She leaned back in her seat, took a deep breath, then exhaled. She'd better think about what she had heard instead of useless crap.

" _What will I say to him when I arrive? Even if he doesn't ask, he probably wants to know why I went away so suddenly. But I don't know yet where to start telling him. It's not as easy as it seems. No, moreover, it's really complicated. And it's not only the spirits who will come out badly of this if we mess up."_

As she closed her eyes, the scene that greeted her when she entered the palace-like house came to life behind her eyelids.

__

* * *

 

_Earlier_

"Anna-chan! You're here at last!"

Anna blinked. She shook her blonde hair out of her face, then bowed in front of the little old man. Yohmei nodded back, then motioned for the  _itako_  to go inside.

"Where is Kino-sama?" Anna asked silently. She respected the old shaman, but first of all, she had come here because of her mistress, not him.

"On the roof. She's not feeling well," came the answer. Anna stopped dead for a moment, then followed Yohmei again like nothing had happened.

She had never thought about how old Kino-sama was. She just never came to the thought that one day her mistress  _won't be_. It was still hard to imagine. She wasn't scared, just surprised. She didn't let herself worry for anything. It only had happened once that she worried for Yoh – and even that had been unnecessary, although she couldn't have known that before.

When they reached the roof, the old woman was sitting on the edge of the ledge, while chewing a leaf. Upon hearing their steps, she turned around, and smiled at them. She didn't seem ill, at least not to Anna's judgment.

"Anna," she said on that rough voice of hers. "Thank you for coming."

"Naturally."

"Come here." Kino patted the ledge by herself. "You're the one amongst my students I am most proud of. And I am also proud of you as the future wife of my grandson."

Anna didn't speak, her face showed no expression. She sat down on the showed spot and waited for her to get to the subject.

"It's a hard thing, really," Kino continued. "You know as well how lonely he had been before. Now he has friends." She didn't have to name them for Anna to know who she's talking about. "And yet, without your support..."

She went silent, and Anna gave a little nod, but she still didn't say a thing. It would have been reduntant to deny anything out of false modesty. Her duty was to be by Yoh's side and help him, and she did so. Although it was never a hard task, she never admitted it.

"I want to ask you something similar, Anna," the old woman's voice stiffened, and Anna now knew she wasn't ill at all, just knew something she haven't told her yet. She supposed it wasn't a likeable information. "If everything is as I know now, Yoh needs someone to tell him what to do."

Now was the first time Anna felt the need to disagree.

"Yoh never needed me to tell him what to do. Not in the important things."

Kino looked at her surprisedly, even appreciatively, and she didn't know what that meant.

"Anna-chan," she smiled. "Maybe you don't tell it to his face, or he doesn't let you to tell to his face, but you do affect him, and he also knows it."

"But..."

"I didn't say it wasn't good for him."

Anna held her breath for a couple of moments, then exhaled. She felt surprising impatience inside herself; she needed to sweep it out.

"What is it that I have to do, Kino-sama?"

Kino's face clouded up again.

"Hao returned."

Anna was aghast.

"That's impossible. He couldn't return. Yoh killed him. Even if he reincarnates again... we still have five hundred years!"

"He didn't return in his body and flesh. Hear me out."

Despite her expression, the woman's face was so calm that Anna pressed her lips together and forced herself to pay attention.

__

* * *

 

_Everything started with those two stars. They weren't even real stars, just circulating objects in space, going round the same places again and again, in eternal, frozen cycle. For example, around Earth. And then, when eventually both of them were near at the same time, the balance of the world lurches._

_In these times started a new Shaman Fight – once in every five hundred years._

_But balance didn't only mean balance of good and bad. Other things happened as well these times, once every half millenia. Maybe things just went a little diffuse, maybe everything lurced so much that it can be redone only with long, hard work, and then everything would go smoothly once again._

_At times like these, there were always lots of shooting stars._

_Shooting stars are strange objects; those who only want to believe their eyes say they're only falling meteorites that burn when reach the atmosphere. But shamans have the ability to see behind things. And 'what it's made of' isn't important when talking about a shooting star, but what it means to those who have the least of hope._

_Exactly, that. Hope. Because if you see a shooting star, you can make a wish – every little child knows that. Go up on the roof and open your soul. Stare at that tiny, just barely visible pile of light far away, until your eyes start to water, and wish from the bottom of your heart. If you wished hard enough – and you didn't tell anybody –, it will come true. You just have to believe in it from the bottom of your heart._

* * *

She entered the house with lips firmly pressed together. Everybody was sleeping, that was expectable. Only the old ghosts of the perished family who had lived there came out to greet her as their mistress. Her lips twitched as she was reminded how many times she had pestered Yoh with training, making these ghosts watch him. This time their task was easier; they just had to find him. Anna knew he was probably sleeping, but she had to talk to him. More than a full day had passed since she had left to Izumo, who knows what might had happened since then. And if Kino-sama had been right (and why wouldn't she?), then she had to hurry.

But the deceased housewife came back with surprising news: Yoh isn't in the house at all. Everyone else was here, except Yoh. Anna leaned to the door post with her shoulder, and after a minute of thinking she decided she would search for her fiancé herself. She had a guess where he might have been.

__

* * *

 

_Earlier_

It had already started to get dark when Yoh decided he could now walk as well. The evening before, after Faust had fixed his leg, he couldn't sleep for a really long time – not because of the pain, but it seemed like he had too many thoughts in his head. It was nearly daybreak when he fell asleep finally, so it wasn't a surprise he slept in. It was late afternoon when he woke up. They were expecting Anna only in the evening, so he used it to his own advantage, that there wasn't anyone to drag him out into the freezing morning to do training. By that time, the others had all found themselves some occupation, so the boy just sat down on the terrace, straightened his injured leg, and watched, with a huge grin on his face, as Horo-horo and Ren muddled. It looked like the boy from the North had angered the Chinese shaman once again, and Ren reacted as usual: provoked a fight. What was strange was that neither of them used their shaman powers; it looked like they were just trying to blow off steam, and for that, a fight with bare hands was the perfect solution. At least Yoh had fun watching them, he even forgot about his aching leg. Some time later Manta arrived from cram school as well, and sat down beside his friend. He looked like he was dying to ask what had happened, since he had been left out of the happenings of the night before, but the lazy shaman boy just shook his head so he left it at that.

After some time, Yoh started to think about where Hao could be. He had disappeared really weirdly the night before, he hadn't seen him since he had brought Lyserg to help. On first thought he was glad he didn't have to put up with his twin brother and his remarks, but subconsciously he started to have strange thoughts about Hao, feelings he never had about Hao before. Could it be that he should rethink things he knew or thought about the other one?

When the sun started to set, he finally got up, with a sincere plan to put an end to this. He decided to talk to Hao and try to persuade him to help find a solution. Although he was still angry with him because he had turned his back on him when he had to fight, he also started to think whether the other shaman had a reason to do so, and that maybe it now wasn't only vindictiveness that made him act. It was high time they talked; this time, with honesty.

He could only hope that Hao would also agree to be honest.

Fortunately he didn't have to search too much; at the very moment he stepped out of the house, the ghost appeared in front of him, so unexpectedly that it made Yoh recoil and nearly fall. He had a hard time getting used to this new balance. Hao waited until his younger brother was standing steadily, then he spoke.

"Come with me. I want to show you something."

This turn of events surprised Yoh, but he didn't object. It might have even fit into his own plans: it didn't really matter where they talk. He followed his brother silently, taking careful steps after each other, until they reached where the other wanted them to go...

… to the factory district of Tokyo.

Yoh didn't really understand what they had to do here, but he decided to let it be decided by Hao; he would surely get an explanation later.

He crossed the line where he started to trust his brother unnoticeably even for himself.

But Hao didn't seem to want to explain. For the time being, Yoh decided not to ask, he just stepped to the side of the other one, and stared down to the forest of chimneys stretching for the skies. Hao was surprised by the gesture of him standing by his side; it nearly seemed like they treated each other like they were equals. Was it really like that...?

Yoh watched the city below their feet, and thought. Sometimes he glanced at Hao, but it seemed he was waiting for him to guess for himself why they were there. The younger shaman knew that this way no problems will be solved, but he tried to humour him, so he thought about it. Truth is truth; the factory district was an obtrusively ugly blur of the huge capital of Japan, but Yoh thought it was somehow necessary. These producing buildings served so many people that for the time being they did more good than harm. And to redeem the harm – well, wasn't that exactly the duty of shamans?

Hao watched him for some time, but it seemed he didn't like what he saw on his brother's face, because he suddenly said,

"Do you get it now?"

Yoh turned his head.

"No," he said calmly. "What is it that I should get, Hao? This city is my home."

"Isn't Izumo your home?" his brother blinked.

"Of course," Yoh answered matter-of-factly. "Izumo is where my family lives, so that's my home. But I live here, and my friends also live here, so this is also my home."

"You like this place," Hao said unbelievingly.

"Yeah." Yoh stared at the dirty factories with a distant look on his face. Hao didn't know what to say. Whatever he had tried to make Yoh side with him failed, meeting with the younger shaman's endless optimism and love for people from every direction. It was impossible to persuade him of anything. The elder brother didn't really know himself what he wished to achieve by bringing Yoh here – especially because whatever it was, it failed again. Hao hated this sight, like so many similar ones in similar cities; proof of the wrongdoing of mankind he loathed as they destroyed the Earth more and more.

"What's nice in this?" he gestured around with his hand, as he decided to switch tactics. But Yoh only shrugged.

"I didn't say it was nice. I said I like it."

Hao shook his head. There was some logic in it, he had to admit.

"Have you never loved anything without trying to change it?" Yoh asked suddenly, and Hao didn't know what to say. "The things... and the people we love change for our sake without asking... but trying to change them with force is not right." Before Hao could answer anything, Yoh looked at him right in the eye and smiled, and he felt like a flash of lightning went through him. "I had been wanting to talk to you about these things for ages... since you gave me the essence of Chou Senji Ryakketsu... but by that time even I didn't understand it fully," the other continued. "Those I love, I love them exactly for how they are." Yoh chuckled a bit, then added, "Or nevertheless how they are."

Hao took a long, deep breath, but in the end he stayed silent. This seemed to encourage Yoh, because he said,

"I think you always look at thing from only one point of view, Hao. It's time I showed you something too."

* * *

Yoh knew exactly where he wanted to go, but it was on the opposite side of the city than the factory district, so it took a long walk. They were only halfway when it was already pitch black, if there were no street lighting they wouldn't have seen to the front of their wood sandals. They walked (and floated) silently beside each other, people who were still out paid no attention to them. Then suddenly Hao stopped like he had been tacked to the pavement by magical hands.

"What?" his brother turned, blinking, but Hao only stared to a point behind his back. And as Yoh turned back to where they had been going, he found himself face to face with Anna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dictionary: oyobu = to reach, to come equal


	8. Part Eight: Yurusu

The first thing that came to his mind was peace. The thought that just nothing mattered. He didn't have thoughts, but he didn't miss them. He had nothing but he wanted nothing as well. And this wanting nothing, that he didn't long for anything unnecessary, this was perfect, inimitable peace.

Sadly, it only lasted a moment, then he opened his eyes. He still wasn't thinking, but there were a couple of things that he already felt around himself: water, air, earth, fire, and himself. He didn't need them, he didn't need even himself. He just... was.

He raised his hands and looked at them. As he clenched them into a fist, for a moment he felt them strangely empty, like something was missing from them, then this feeling went away too, he let it free like all the others.

He never thought freedom could fill everything in himself like now. He didn't want anything else besides staying here forever in nothingness, caring for nothing and no one.

Yet, something was amiss. He couldn't figure out what, still... The thought first only appeared dimly, then, as he wasn't able to subdue it, it became stronger. Something was missing. Not from his hands, it wasn't palpable like that, but... from his soul.

Then he heard those words.

_R_ _ei ni ya zareba tamashii ni motomuru koto nakare_ _.  
T_ _amashii ni ya zareba kokoro ni motomuru koto nakare_ _._

 

* * *

The last rays of moonlight sank over the horizon, but before that, it caressed the three frozen figures one last time. Hao's face looked as if eternity had frozen over it, some unreadable, unspeakable, horrible reality was reflected in his eyes; Anna's beads quivered on her neck as the breeze moved them; only Yoh stood without wincing, and smiled like he always did. Like earlier, before his brother appeared to scew his life up. But now he wasn't so sure that he regretted it.

 

"Hi, Anna," he said simply in the end. Anna quittered and raised her glance to his fiancé, but he just smiled.

"Hi," she whispered at last. It looked as if they were never going to move again. Neither of them acknowledged Hao's presence at all, Anna because she didn't know what to say, and Yoh because it was easier to let the thoughts just wander beside each other meaninglessly, until he gathers the last crumbs of his courage to say out what he needed to say out.

But not now, not here. For that, first he had to take Hao to that place, where...

There.

After all, it was him again who broke the silence: he raised his hand, and offered the empty, useless sheath of Harusame.

"Look after this for me until I return. I don't need it."

Anna felt dizzy all of a sudden, and even Hao flinched upon hearing this.

" _Yoh decided already? Just like this, in a tick? Or... did I miss what I would've had to notice? And what will... what of Amidamaru?"_

Questions that can't be said and can't be answered. Anna just took the sheath.

"Yoh...," she said vaguely, but he already walked past her, without looking back. Hao went after him in an instant, and the first thought that crossed the itako's mind was:  _it's as if he's following his master_.

"Don't worry, Anna. I know what I'm doing."

She would have liked to argue with that, but she restrained herself from doing so, and as the two of them disappeared behind the corner, she realised it would've been completely unnecessary. She trusted Yoh, as much as a person can trust another one. And that wasn't a small thing.

The fragile girl turned around, and started going back home.

It was daybreak.

 

* * *

"Why did you bring me here?" Hao asked while staring at the cracked tombstone. "You think this will help you get back  _dear_  Amidamaru?" But before Yoh could answer anything, he turned around, and bit his lip.

 

" _You can't stand not to say something rude, can you?"_  he scolded himself.

"No." Yoh stayed calm, and didn't pay attention to the scoff. For the first time, he knew why Hao said the things he said, and thus, he wasn't angry anymore because of them. He just still didn't know how to say those words. "I didn't bring you here because of the tombstone, but because this was the first place in Tokyo where I met spirits."

"So what?" Hao didn't understand.

Yoh stepped to the side of the cracked stone, and stared down the city. The moon had already disappeared, but the sun had yet to appear. In this half an hour it was almost pitch dark, except for the stars.

"Everything that has a bad side has a good one as well," the younger shaman stated. "This is Tokyo too... and yet, look at how beautiful the stars look from here!" He looked up, and the other followed his gaze without noticing it.

"It looks much nicer in Izumo." He just had to say something at least, and pecking at others was so himself now that he couldn't get rid of it in a day. But Yoh was still calm.

"These are the same stars that you can see in Izumo, Hao. Don't be so pessimistic. And anyways, when were you in Izumo at all?"

Hao started to wonder where Yoh had gotten this cynism. Because,  _of course_ , he couldn't possibly had gotten it from him, could he?

"When I was born."

"Yeah, other than that."

"Isn't that enough?"

Yoh sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You're unbelievable..." he said, but this sounded nowhere near as harsh or cold than before. Apparently, Hao noticed this as well, because his expression changed from cynic to thinking. Yoh didn't notice this because he was still looking upwards, but the other was now looking at him. "You're like a snail."

"Snail?" Hao asked amazed.

At last, Yoh took his eye off the sky; instead, he lied down onto the ground, and patted the grass next to himself.

Hao was completely taken aback. The situation seemed surreal: Yoh, who two days before acted like he wanted nothing more than him to be out of his sight, was now friendly to him.

He hesitated a bit, but in the end he gave in and sat down by his little brother, and glanced at him.

"So why snail of all, otouto?" he asked curious. "Is it how slowly I react to things?"

Yoh chuckled, but then he shook his head.

"No; it's because you don't let anyone to distract you from your goals," he explained sincerely. "If you meet something that's not up to your expectations, you dodge it, or you back into your shell. Well," he added after a bit of thinking, "that's just in case you cannot destroy it."

That hurt. Hao stared in front of himself and didn't answer, his face stiffened into a statue-like expression. But Yoh didn't seem to wait for any answer; he leant his head to the tree-trunk, and closed his eyes.

After a bit of hesitating, Hao decided to follow his example.

They lay beside each other in the grass, with closed eyes, in the middle of a graveyard... and they really, really looked like twin brothers.

A star blinked, then darkened completely. A little bit later, another one followed. Dawn came.

 

* * *

He couldn't have told how much time had passed, and he did nothing – he just  _was_ . For a time if was fine like this, but then that strange feeling of missing something became stronger in him, and subconsciously he started to search for a way out.

 

But there wasn't a way out. There wasn't anything, and there were times when he wasn't even sure about whether he himself existed at all. He had to, since he had thoughts; yet he couldn't get rid of the thought that while he is himself, at the same time he is someone else as well, a lot of someone elses, many many someone elses, and these someone elses are him as well inside, and he outside. It was a confusing chain of thoughts, even he himself didn't understand it at all. He hadn't been taught about things like how to think about himself and others. For him, three kinds of people existed: those who gave the work, those who were the work, and those like himself: who completed the work.

And then of course, there was Mosuke.

_Mosuke..._

Suddenly, stronger than ever before,  _knowledge_  hit him, knowledge of his own self, of his existence. Now he knew exactly who he was, and he also knew what he was missing, or more correctly, who. Not his friend, no. Someone that meant even more than Mosuke, in a different way of course.

He had to go back to him.

He just hadn't a clue how.

 

* * *

Sometime later, when Hao thought Yoh had already fallen asleep, the other one spoke up.

 

"I think I get the big picture now... about all this."

"What are you talking about?" Hao blinked. Yoh opened his eyes and smiled with only half of his mouth. He looked like he had made a final resolution, because behind the smile there was endless audacity.

"You, of course." He looked at the shocked expression on his brother's face, then continued. "Maybe the metaphor of the snail wasn't right... since snails have shells, while you don't really have a home anymore, right, Hao?"

Hao's eyes widened.

"What do you mean with that, Yoh?" His voice was startled.

Yoh wasn't looking at him anymore, maybe it was easier for him to speak while concentrating on the sky instead.

"I saw your thoughts, your dreams... you showed me everything with the Chou Senji Ryakketsu... it's just that I couldn't patch it together until now, what you meant with all this."

"What is ununderstandable in this?" the other licked his dry lips. "Does that mean you agree with me at last?"

"I have to admit," Yoh started silently, "there is some truth in what you stated about humans. That they don't respect nature, and that they destroy everything that we shamans built, even if not on purpose, and that's wrong. But still..." now he tore his gaze from the sky and looked at Hao again, "this is not what made you hate them, right?" He didn't let Hao interfere. "You helped them, and yet you only got fear and hatred in return everywhere, right? And so, now you can only hate and curse as well. And because nobody has ever forgave you for anything, you never forgive anybody either. Think about it, Hao," at this point, Yoh looked elsewhere again, ignoring the frozen expression on his brother's face, "what would it be like to be reborn again and starting everything over? Maybe it would be worth it."

Now Hao was shivering with all his body. Everything that Yoh had said, he wouldn't have ever been able to admit to himself, and yet, he couldn't deny anything of it either. Truth dawned on him with a weight so heavy that he felt he couldn't take it. Had he been alive still, he would've stood up and ran away, but he didn't want to vanish, although he himself didn't know the reason. He couldn't overturn his own death, at least not the way he wanted to do it now, and yet he didn't want to be reminded of his ghostly being. He didn't really know what he wanted anymore... just not to hurt anymore.

Yoh hesitated, but only for a moment. As he looked at Hao's face that had the most various expressions flowing across, all his reservations went away. He took a deep breath and sai it out.

"I forgive you. Everything."

Something warm and salty ran down on Hao's face. He touched it curiously, and when he retracted his hand, on the tip of his finger a teardrop was trembling. And it was followed by many-many others, streaming, pouring down on the face of the millenium-year-old shaman's face, and he couldn't do anything about it. So he didn't do a thing, just sat still and let them flow. And slowly he was overwhelmed by some endless relief, as if something else had also gone away with the tears. Something that he would've had to let go of hundreds of years ago.

Suddenly a hand squeezed his own; as he looked up, he saw his brother through the curtain of his tears.

"Otouto..." he whispered, but Yoh only smiled and shook his head.

Then he said something that would have made Hao blow his top a few weeks ago... but now he was only grateful.

" _Nantoka naru_..." And then, as he saw the faint smile appearing on his older brother's face, he added, "... _aniki_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dictionary: yurusu = to forgive; nantoka naru = Yoh's unique sentence, meaning something along the lines of "it will be all right" ; aniki = older brother (it's a bit more respective than "onii-san" or "nii-chan" or the likes)


	9. Part Nine: Kokoroatari

He felt really tired. Unable to continue fighting. Now he remembered everything clearly that he had to remember... but this didn't give him enough strength to break out of the endless circle.

He never felt this weak and lonely – not even when Mosuke wasn't able to come to the place where they had been supposed to meet. At that time, he had been sure that Mosuke hadn't betrayed him; but now he hadn't a clue about where he was, why he was there, and where he was supposed to go.

He just knew that it was wrong. Since he had realised what he was missing, he couldn't rest.

After all, he was a samurai. And a samurai never, in no possible situation can leave his master alone in danger.

One thing was sure: wherever he was, Yoh wasn't with him. Although he hoped that no harm was done to the shaman boy in his absence, this didn't make his sense of guilt lesser, since he omitted his duty. It was enough to just think about that once he felt peace in this place (which by the way he still didn't know anything about) to feel disgusted.

He had to get out of here.

But where?

There wasn't any exit.

But he wasn't named  _Amidamaru, the Demon_  to give up anywhere, anywhen.

This word just wasn't in his dictionary.

* * *

"I didn't understand for a long time," Hao said hoarsely, "how you can be so different from me."

The sun had come up, its soft light spilled through the city sleepily. The two siblings were still laying beside each other under the tree. Somehow, they just didn't feel like moving; they were enjoying themselves, and after some time, Hao had to agree that there were things that did look nice from this angle.

"I was completely sure you were nothing more than a tiny piece of me, and so you were supposed to be like me," the older sibling continued. "And yet I was unable to win you over for myself."

"And so you started loathing me," Yoh said simply. His voice was listless. "It was still better than you looking down on me."

Hao took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. They weren't so tense around each other anymore, but there were still things that needed to be said out sooner or later.

"Now I know it differs from how I thought. "You're not just not a piece of me... you're much more than me."

Yoh raised, leaning on his elbow, and stared at Hao.

"I'm not stronger than you, and I'll never be. I was only able to overcome you because every shaman trusted their powers to me."

That information was new to Hao.

"Every shaman?" he stared at his little brother. "How could the small fry overcome what I gathered from the strongest ones?"

Yoh rolled back on his back and laughed.  _Wow, you're still so clueless, aniki..._

"A lot of the little can overcome the big," he answered, a somber expression entering his face. "To be honest... it was scary."

"What?"

"The knowledge that everyone put the decision in my hand. That I didn't have a choice but to believe in myself, or everyone would fall."

Hao stayed silent for a while, then asked,

"Was that enough to believe in yourself?"

Yoh stared up at the slowly brightening sky, and mulled over how to explain to Hao what he had already been unable to explain to Ren before.

"When I first lost a Shaman Fight," he said slowly, "I almost lost everything just because I couldn't be myself. Because I wanted to do something I wasn't capable of, and I wasn't capable of it because I didn't believe in it enough. I couldn't believe in it because... there were too many things happening at once. When I was fighting you, everything was crystal clear. I knew what had to be done, and I also knew it had to be me who does it, so that left no room for doubting whether I'd be able to. I was able to, because I was myself, and myself also wanted what I did in the end."

"That sounds rather schyzophrenic," Hao wagged his head, then suddenly asked something entirely different. "If we were there and then again... would you kill me again, Yoh?"

Yoh answered without a moment's hesitation. "Yes."

Hao froze. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, mostly he hadn't been expecting anything at all, he hadn't thought of betting on an answer; yet he still felt disappointed. But before he would have been able to think about what else had been a lie, Yoh caught his eye. In his glance, the coldness slowly melted, and Hao didn't understand any of it.

"All that time that we've spent together since you returned," his younger brother said, "was needed in order to be where we are right now. At that place, at that time, you didn't know and believe what you know and believe now, and I wasn't able to forgive you. If we were back to that, I would have no chance but to kill you again." He said it matter-of-factly, without any anger in his voice, and slowly Hao came to understand as well.

"And if we went back there with what we know now..."

"Then there wouldn't be a reason for me to kill you."

Hao mulled over this for a while, then he turned to Yoh with a small smile on his face and said,

"Yes, there would."

Now it was Yoh's time to freeze.

"Why?"

"Because of what you said," Hao turned his head into the other direction. It was hard to admit to himself, but it was refreshing to be honest with Yoh. "For me to be able to try it once more... with letting my anger and pain go."

Yoh was silent. There was a strange thought going around in his head, but he wasn't sure he wanted to say it out loud yet. These few days had changed quite a few things in him too, and he didn't yet know what would be the outcome of these changes. Not to mention how he'd get the others to approve of this all... but that wasn't his topmost problem. Hao didn't speak either; he didn't really know what he was waiting for.

"Nee, Hao..." Yoh braced himself up at last.

"Nani?"

The older turned his head to look into the eyes if his brother. As the two gazes met, the last star faded in the sky.

"In point of fact, I got a second chance from you, otouto." As if Hao had guessed what Yoh was thinking about. "I can go on now, and you can spend the rest of your life without shadows."

"And what if I'll feel too hot under the bare sun?" Yoh asked, with a mischievous smile creeping onto his lips.

"What do you mean?" asked Hao surprisedly.

Yoh smiled again, this time wholeheartedly, with that special, glowing, careless smile that marked his entire life so well.

And he said it.

"I'll miss you."

* * *

"I need to talk to you."

Manta turned over and rubbed at his eyes.  _Right after sunrise, and Anna's already up and about, bossing me arou-... Anna?_

"Anna-san! You cambe back?"

"As you can see," came the cold answer. "As I was saying, I need to talk to you."

"Go on, then..." Manta suppressed a yawn and watched as the girl sat down beside him on the porch, and threw the thing she was holding beside herself. "Anna-san," he started cautiously, "why do you have Yoh-kun's sword?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk about," the  _itako_  stared into midair. "Yoh doesn't need this anymore."

"W-What do you m-mean?" The small boy was taken aback.

Anna told him everything she had heard from Kino-sama, and what Yoh had told her after that; and Manta started to look at the events of the past few days in a different light.

"But... well... are you sure it's okay like that?" he asked unsurely in the end.

"Yoh made a decision," Anna answered stoicly.

"Yeah, I know, but-..."

"Do you trust him or not!" the girl barked at him, which caused him to pipe down.

"Of course I trust him! Anna-san," he suddenly thought of something else, "are we the only ones that know of all this?"

"I'm not sure."

"No, you're not."

Manta started as Lyserg sat down on his other side and tapped the still swollen scratches on his face.

"You knew?" he asked unbelievingly.

"These," the English shaman stroked the wounds, "I got from Yoh-kun."

Anna's eyes flashed, but the green-haired boy just shrugged.

"To be exact, from Hao... but I didn't know that by that time."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Manta asked stunned. Lyserg rubbed at his eyes; he seemed sleepy as well, but he knew what he was talking about.

"Because Hao blackmailed Yoh into telling anyone about him by saying he'd kill anyone that got the knowledge," he answered simply. "I found it out by accident, and this is what it caused."

"How can you talk about that this calmly?" Manta's jaw dropped. "Doesn't it disturb you, that Yoh made up with Hao? I thought you hated him!"

"Yeah, I do." Lyserg's hands clenched into a fist, and he stared down at the ground. "I will never forgive him, never!"

"Then why-..."

"Because..." Lyserg stopped to think about this. Exactly, why? Maybe it was just an intuition. An intuition that said Hao wasn't the same person he had been before... and Yoh is to thank for that. "Because of Yoh-kun," he said at last.

"I guessed they weren't just normal scratches," came Faust's voice from behind them, and when the trio looked back, they saw that the rest of the populous company was also standing right behind them. "Yoh-kun doesn't have a medium that can make gashes like this."

"Hm!" Ren crossed his hands and leaned to the rail. "I could've guessed Hao was the source of his problems... although I wasn't expecting this."

"Nobody was expecting this," Anna said dryly, and turned to face everyone. "Okay, then, a question for everyone. Do you trust Yoh more than you  _don't_  trust Hao?"

* * *

Yoh froze as he stepped through the gates with Hao at his heels. He was expecting Anna waiting for him, but that everybody was sitting on the veranda waiting surprised him.

"What's wrong, guys, can't you sleep?" he grinned, but he only got serious looks from everywhere. "What now?"

He glanced at Hao's spirit, then back at everyone else, and slowly it got to him that everyone probably thought he was on Hao's side.

Which was true in a sense, but not how the others thought.

Hao stepped to his side, crossed his arms and looked down on his little brother. He admitted to himself he was at a loss about what to do now. Yoh looked up at him, scratched the back of his head, and laughed out.

"Aniki, do you think we're in trouble?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dictionary: kokoroatari = to know something/someone for real


	10. Part Ten: Yasumaru

"Yoh." Anna's voice was so cold that Yoh shivered unintentionally. He was completely unable to tell whether his fiancée was angry, or on the contrary, close to laughing. Even despite that he had gotten so well in guessing her moods lately. "Come here."

He started walking obediently, leaving Hao behind. He blinked back over his shoulder carefully, but his twin brother's face was empty again, taking on that well-known sarcastic smile that Yoh now knew enough to tell it was only to hide his true feelings.

He stopped in front of Anna and looked over the company. Nobody said a word, the faces were serious. Yoh was only anxious for a moment, then just let it fade, grabbing the one feeling that he was always a master of: airiness.

After all, he promised himself he wouldn't do things he isn't capable of. And things just got right in the end anyways.

Didn't they?

Anna lifted her hand; in it was the scabbard of Harusame, empty without its owner, and once again, Yoh felt a pang of his samurai friend's absence.

"Do you still need this?" the girl asked simply. Yoh pressed his lips together for a second, then answered.

"Yes, Anna, I need it."

All the others sighed as one. Yoh slowly started to understand as he looked around, then he turned back, and waved for his brother.

"Naa, Hao... kocchi ni oide."

The feared shaman couldn't hide his astonished expression as his little brother held out his hand. He took a step, then stopped and folded his arms.

"If you want us to understand, don't play," this was Anna, and Hao's face turned even more dumbfounded. Yoh was okay, after what happened in the past few days, but Anna? How could Anna see into him like this?

He took another step, but he didn't take his eyes off his twin. He loathed this insecureness; he felt he was dependent on the kindliness of the others, and he hated it with a passion. The worst was knowing he couldn't just look down on them as he used to do with those who feared his power before. They were afraid of him too, that was certain, but they trusted Yoh as nobody has ever trusted Hao before, and he had no idea what to do with that.

"I want them to see what you are, too," Yoh said silently. They were only a few steps away from each other now, but upon hearing this, he stopped again, and looked at him, this time incredulously.

"No," he answered. "Don't ask me that, Yoh. Ask something I can give."

"Should I tell them instead?"

"No! No, of course not!" Hao was now actually afraid. Anna flinched involuntarily as the shaman reached forward, but she finally didn't do anything, and let Hao grab Yoh's hand and pull him closer to himself.

"I don't understand you," Yoh stared up at him directly. "Aniki..." He wasn't sure he wanted to say it out loud, but he had to ask. " _What are you afraid of?_ "

But Hao didn't deny it.

"I don't know either. But this... don't do this to me, otouto. If you meant everything you said to me at the cemetery, don't torture me with this."

"Then what should I do?" Yoh scratched the back of his head, and his well-known smile started to appear. "If this is the only way..."

"Way to what?" Hao didn't care anymore about their audience.

"You wanted a second chance; here, you've got it."

"That wasn't about..."

"Yes it was." Yoh turned around, freeing his wrist from his brother's grasp, and looked at everyone's faces. And yes, the earlier defiance was switched with uncertainty, someplaces even more.

Finally, for everyone's surprise, it was Lyserg who spoke.

"I want to hear it."

"What?" Ryu gaped. "Lyserg! But..."

"I want to hear it," repeated Lyserg with that stubbornness of his that everyone knew.

"I thought you hated Hao," came the dispassionate statement from Ren, which earned him an elbow in his ribs from Horo Horo.

"Yes, that is true," the green-haired shaman nodded, which caused both the Northern and the Chinese to stare at him. "That is exactly why..."

"Am I the only one who doesn't get it?" asked Chocolove. Everyone shook their heads. "Oh, good then..."

"Maybe I would understand... If Yoh-kun told me, maybe I'd understand... Maybe I'd be able to not... or,  _less_  hate him. If I knew why..." Lyserg's voice faded, he wasn't able to continue. He looked up when Ryu squeezed his shoulder supportively, but he was unable to smile.

"I still... can't do this." Hao was adamant. "You just cannot ask that of me."

"What do you think I'm asking?" his brother looked at him.

"You ask me to make myself vulnerable, completely. More than I did with the  _Chou Senji Ryakketsu_.

"Not more than how much you made them vulnerable," commented Anna dryly. "Not to mention the Asakura family."

"Anna..." Yoh hesitated, but his fiancée's strict look made him close his mouth.

"The others voted their confidence in you," the girl said, which caused Yoh to blink surprisedly. The others nodded, Hao pulled his mouth. "I let them."

"Anna... what does that mean?"

"It means I don't agree." Anna threw the empty scabbard down; it reached the ground with a painfully sharp crash. Yoh stared disbelievingly, as if the girl he knew suddenly turned into someone else.

"You don't trust me?" he asked seriously.

Their gazes locked, and for a dreadfully long moment, nobody dared to breathe. They knew this question only had one valid answer, and that would decide everything. In the end, everything depended on Anna.

"Yes, I do. I don't trust Hao though."

"You're not alone with that," the brown-haired shaman motioned around lightly. Anna stayed silent for another second, then she closed her eyes.

And Yoh turned around to face everyone, and started talking.

* * *

Hao wasn't paying attention while Yoh was speaking. He knew what the other was saying anyways. He didn't want to hear it. He would have rather had some things left unsaid. And the story wasn't for him; it was about him, so he could afford not paying attention.

But he needed to see the answer; that's why he was here. While Yoh was talking, he looked at their faces, one after the another, trying to guess what they are thinking. It wasn't an easy task: he couldn't read their minds, and reading the faces wasn't as easy as one would think.

Ren was staring in front of himself, into thin air, his expression rigid. Hao didn't quite know the Chinese shaman apart from what sort of powers he had. Except half-heartedly trying to make him his ally a few times, he had no connection to him.

That went for the tall lizard shaman as well. Ryu's eyes were on Yoh, his hands clenched into a fist. Sometimes he glanced at the green-haired Englishman, his lips twitching. It wasn't hard to tell the reason of his resentment.

Hao's gaze lingered on Lyserg for a longer time. The boy fixed his stubborn eyes on Yoh, gnawing on his lower lip meanwhile. His look slowly changed to pondering... and then suddenly, his gaze flew over, and before Hao could look elsewhere, he found himself staring into the English shaman's eyes.

Yoh went silent and looked around, stopping at the pair currently having a staring contest. He opened his mouth, but finally didn't say anything. And in the end, who knows why, maybe to comply, Hao was the one first looking away.

"Well..." Yoh scratched the back of his head, and as he spoke, the moment evaporated somehow. Anna moved first, doing something entirely unexpected: she walked in front of Hao and looked up at him. Hao looked back at her, but still said nothing. Anna raised her hand, and Hao suddenly remembered their last meeting on top of the canyon. This time, he didn't resist; the girl only needed one hand.

The snap surprised her too; she expected him to resist. She stepped back, looking at the shaman uncomprehendingly, her mouth hung open to say something; but in the end, she just gave a curt, little nod, and walked away.

The next time Hao looked around, there were only three of them; him, Yoh laughing silently by his side, and Lyserg standing at the doorway, but he turned around shortly, and followed Anna.

"I think it was easier than I would have anticipated," Yoh remarked. Hao looked at him, and chuckled.

"Yes, I think so too."

* * *

"Well, otouto... I think it's time for me to go."

It was evening again, only a few minutes after sundown. They were right where everything started, in the garden of the Funbari  _ryokan_. Yoh was sitting cross-legged in the grass slightly wet from evening dew, and Hao was standing by his side, staring at the sky.

Yoh followed his gaze, just in time to see that only bright shooting star that was crossing through the sky. His mouth widened into a smile, he took a deep breath, and with just one breath, said his wish out loud.

" (a huge intake of breath), ."

Hao laughed out loud. It was his old laugh, and yet the tone of it was so different from before. Yoh had never heard his twin brother laugh in such a way. From this laugh the hurtful, sardonic edge disappeared, while it was full of bright happiness, exactly the kind Yoh wished for him.

"I don't need a next life for that... I am happy already."

For that, he got Yoh's most thankful smile. The younger twin leaned back in the grass, putting his palms behind his head, and stared at the lowly darkening sky.

"Say, Yoh..." The boy turned his head sideways. "Don't you want to be reborn with me? You could do it."

Yoh propped his head hesitantly for a while, then he finally beckoned no.

"Why?"

"Because, for me, only the unrepeatable happiness is the true one," he said matter-of-factly. "Otherwise it's meaningless to be happy for anything. It would wear off... and I don't want that, aniki."

Hao nodded, but he was obviously disappointed.

"But I will be there," his little brother added, his mouth twitching into a smile again. "I'll be with the Great Spirits, and I'll be watching you from there."

They stayed silent for a while, and meanwhile the last rays of light escaped, and it turned night for real.

"How should I do it?" Hao asked hesitantly, some time later. Yoh shrugged, as much as he could from that laying position.

"Well, I think... the other way around."

"What?" his brother blinked at him stunnedly.

"The other way around.. compared to how you did it when you came."

"Okay," Hao was still unsure, but it was worth a try.

For the last time, he looked at his sibling once more, then he turned his eyes at the sky, and raised his hands.

* * *

The chains slackened, then they snapped apart. He stretched. He now knew where to go, where to be, he was only waiting for the opportunity. And here, the opportunity was given to him. He curled his hands into a fist, then he jumped.

It was as if he was flying in some direction, but he couldn't tell where; everything was blurred around him. Then a flash of light; he would have sworn he saw a long brown-haired figure in a floating cloak glide past him, with an unexplainable expression on their face... then complete darkness.

A gust of wind swept through the garden, bending the plants, then went silent. But it took something with it, and that something left emptiness, emptiness waiting to be filled.

Yoh only stood in place, watching as Hao's figure slowly dissolved into the darkness, curling his palms into fists unknowingly. He had to force himself to breathe consistently, he concentrated on this instead of the enormous hole that was now gaping in his soul.

But this only lasted for mere seconds, however long it seemed. Maybe it was only a minute.

Then suddenly, a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Yoh-dono..."

And when he opened his eyes and turned that way, there stood the samurai, in all his glory, panting, and staring at his master with wide eyes.

"Amidamaru!" Yoh cried out. He broke into a run in the direction in the other, and the other did the same.

An observer could have thought they were going to envelope each other in a tight, friendly hug, but what they did was much more than that. Even the usual words were needless, only a thought, and spirit and shaman became one in a perfect fusion, as they haven't for a very long time. And suddenly everything was in place with a jolt. The Hyoui Gattai mended the hole that was created by disappearance of the other spirit.

 _After all,_  Yoh thought sometime later, after saying good night to a surprised Anna with a hug, then sliding in between his bedsheets,  _this is how it should be._

_And nothing more is needed._

**FIN.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dictionary: ryokan = Japanese traditional inn ; yasumaru = to be at ease, to be in peace ; "Naa, Hao, kocchi ni oide." = "Hey, Hao, come here." (said in an informal way that implies close relationship)

**Author's Note:**

> nagareboshi = falling star ; ochiru = to fall down ; otouto = little brother


End file.
